I think the club members don't know what they're talking about. Where else would you put a subject moving so fast that it threatens to burst right out of the frame?
The position of the skier is fine. What seems off balance to me is the dark area beyond the fence, particularly the spot of red which I find is pulling my eye away from the subject. I wish that whole area was lighter in tone. Never mind, its a great capture anyways. Congrats.
I'd have to say you're club members are making their decisions based on compositional guidelines that are only meant as a beginning. Yes, its a touch too tight on the left, but putting the skier over to the right is just silly, it obviously looks better as is. Higher contrast could be good, and lets try to stick to recent work, keep em comin.
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